Complexity- Armin x Reader

Chapter 7: Shaking the Devil's Hand

After trying to recall what they ran out of at home, Eren's face lit up as soon as he remembered that his freezer needed to be restocked. He eagerly made a beeline towards the frozen food aisle with Mikasa hurriedly pushing the cart to keep up with him. Armin told him to slow down.

"No can do, Armin. I gotta hurry before they run out of them!" Once he reached a certain section of the aisle, he yanked open the door with gleaming eyes, only for his face to drop. "The fuck? Where are all the hot pockets?!" He stuck his head in the grocery store fridge and began to rummage through the boxes of frozen food, growing more and more agitated as he saw that there weren't any in there. "Dammit! I swear, Mikasa. This is the only damn store that never has them!" He backed away from the fridge and crossed his arms against his chest, glaring towards the fridge door which he had slammed shut.

Y/n felt pity for the boy. "Eren, calm down. I'm sure they'll restock them soon. I'll buy you some when they do." She tried her best to calm down the fuming hot-head. The boy's eyes softened at her and he let out a small sigh.

"It's fine. I'll just get tater tots." He dejectedly walked off with Mikasa in tow before pausing to grab a pint of ice cream to drown his hot pocket-related sorrows.

"So," Armin began, turning to face Y/n, "When we get back to Eren's, did you want a ride home?"

"O-Oh, um...I wouldn't want to bother you or your grandpa with that..." Y/n was hesitant to accept the offer. She was constantly depending on Armin and his grandpa for rides which made her feel guilty since she couldn't really pay them back for gas money. She didn't even have an allowance.

"I can walk home, I don't mind. I like walking!" She smiled brightly over at Armin, who was deeply frowning at her. He could tell she was lying.

"Y/n, you're such a worry wart. And that's coming from me. My grandpa loves you, he never minds giving you rides home. And you're my best friend. I care about you. You just think too little of yourself and you end up thinking you're not worth anyone's time. When are you going to realize that you're not bothering anyone?" He sounded upset as he trained his blue eyes intently on the girl's face, feeling a twinge of anger from the fact that his best friend continued to belittle herself. Y/n's smile was quick to disappear. She looked away

The blonde sighed as he gripped his satchel. He eased his frown into a more compassionate expression and he reached out to gently take his friend's hand into his, gracing the skin of her palm with delicate circles that he traced with his thumb. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so mad. I just hate it when you refer to yourself as a 'bother'."

Y/n tilted her head up to meet his ocean pools, her hand relaxing in her friend's hold and her eyes finding solace in the soft gaze he reserved just for her. If they weren't in a grocery store, she surely would have leapt at the chance to hug Armin and praise his kindness.

"I'll work on it." She murmured as she started to feel embarrassed.

Armin smiled. "So, can I give you a ride home then? Actually, I'm definitely not letting you walk home. It's getting colder and you're wearing that thin sweater of yours. Look. It's even got a hole in it." He used his free hand to point out the hole near the bottom of the sweater's hem.

"Hey!" Y/n exclaimed at him before smacking his shoulder lightly. "Stop bashing on it! It gets the job done. Somewhat."

"I know damn well that's a lie." He laughed at his pouting friend, still not taking his hand back from the hold. Y/n made no move to do so either.

Sasha had sauntered her way into the frozen food aisle before stumbling upon the two of them. She paused for a bit, adjusting her handle on the basket she held, before noticing the way that Armin held onto Y/n's hand. Her mouth opened agape before forming a huge smile on her face, walking up to them in glee.